Doha: Spanish defender Chico Flores will return to Djamal Belmadi’s squad as Lekhwiya prepare to take on Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor in the final round of group matches in the 2016 AFC Champions League on Wednesday.
The former Swansea City man (pictured) was suspended for Matchday Five but is now available, although Lekhwiya will be without midfielder Ahmed Maqsoud, who is serving a one-game ban.
Lekhwiya, who have already booked their place in the next phase as runners-up in Group B, will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of losing in the final of the Qatar Cup on Friday against fellow AFC Champions League participants El Jaish.
“We are playing against Bunyodkor in a match which will not affect our standing in the group as we have already secured our place in the knockout stage,” said Belmadi.
“We respect our opponents but we will be focusing on the next matches we have in the competition.
“The importance of the match is that it will be a chance to prepare the players who recently recovered from injuries or other players who didn’t have a lot of playing time this season. I hope that we will give a good performance and get a positive result.”
Lekhwiya are guaranteed to finish in second place behind Iran’s Zobahan with Al Nassr third and Bunyodkor in fourth, with the Uzbeks incapable of surpassing the Saudi Arabian side due to an inferior head-to-head record between the two teams.
Despite their disappointing campaign, though, Bunyodkor coach Sergey Lushchan is hoping his team can sign off their involvement in the 2016 competition with a first win of the campaign.
“We want to have a positive end to the competition. We want to put in a good performance despite the fact we have failed to qualify for the knockout stage,” he said. “The match will be important to gain experience against a strong team.
“We lost in the previous round against Lekhwiya at home and hopefully the players will have a good reaction tomorrow. If we get the three points then it will be a positive end for our campaign in this year’s competition.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com